Thursday, February 28, 2013

Not many of us understand Finance or the
financial implications of the Budget ~ yet there is so much clamour to hear and
discuss the budget.. ! Union Finance
Minister P Chidambaram presented his 8th Union Budget and India's 82nd.
This is the last Union Budget before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. May not have any direct
relationship – the rate of pure gold 24K was Rs.2967/- per gram as against 3009
on 18.2.13; the standard gold was Rs.2774/- per gram as against 2813 of
18.2.13.

Chidambaram in his budget speech spoke of
‘Global economic growth slowing from 3.9 percent in 2011 to 3.2 percent in
2012’. He stated that India is part of the global
economy: our exports and imports amount to 43 percent of GDP and two-way
external sector transactions have risen to 108 percent of GDP. We are not
unaffected by what happens in the rest of the world and our economy too has
slowed after 2010-11. He added that however, there is no reason for gloom or
pessimism. Even now, of the large countries of the world, only China and Indonesia
are growing faster than India
in 2012-13. And in 2013-14, if we grow at the rate projected by many
forecasters, only China will
grow faster than India.

I have nothing to cheer or jeer, as none of the
above would seemingly affect me or alter my way of life, in any way. Then there is announcement about all-woman banks across the country. There are women entrepreneurs, women heading
bank branches and a couple of them heading banks too…. Is there any necessity
for ‘all-women’ bank and in which would that help the women of India
? Are not banks today funding
entrepreneurial initiatives by women?, that only an exclusive bank would
do. Anyway, our FM has announced an
allocation of Rs 1,000 crore as initial capital to start the first all-woman
bank that employs women, helps fund enterprises started by women.

There is another – Rs.1,000 crore Nirbhaya fund.
Chidambaram urged the Ministry of Women and Child Development to figure out
ways and strategies to utilise the fund in a way that it helps women be secure
in public spaces. There have been some incidents recently which have cast
shadow on the safety of women in public places. There certainly is need for
curbing any violence anywhere against women, especially in public places and
that way more funds to Law Enforcement Agencies, clearer directions and
stringent laws are the need of the hour.
May be, we have more ‘All women Police Stations, with those (wo)manning
those equipped with good vehicles and sophisticated equipments’. The FM also announced a Rs 200
crore-allocation to the Ministry of Women and Child Development to make sure
that vulnerable women – single mothers, widows and suchlike – are taken care of
and can live with dignity.

If you are a salaried employee and expected some
relief ~ there is nothing in your way. There will be no change in tax rates or
slabs for FY14, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in his Budget speech. He
has announced a tax credit of Rs 2000 for Rs 2-5 lakh tax payers bracket.
Chidambaram said that only 42,800 people in India last year declared a taxable
income over Rs 1 crore. Therefore, he levied a surcharge of 10% on people
earning a taxable income of Rs 1 crore and above ~ a la ‘super rich tax’.

White is right in India in almost every respect
except income — where only black is the King – people flout all rules and how
many of us can claim totally clean ? Sad,
that the FM has admitted that there are only 42800 who admitted to a taxable
income exceeding 1 crore per year; does not the Govt, FM, the authorities know
that this figure is obviously low ~ with so many luxury cars getting sold,
there should be tens of thousands in each city. Will the Govt ever have the gumption to punish
all those tax offenders. A seemingly
popular measure announced in today’s budget is the increase in the tax
deduction allowed on home loan interest by Rs 1 lakh. Currently a deduction of
Rs 1.5 lakh is allowed to someone buying his first home. The extra deduction of
Rs 1 lakh comes with caveats. The first caveat is that the house should be
bought during the period between April 1, 2013, and March 31, 2014. The home
loan taken should not be more than Rs 25 lakh. And the value of the house being
bought should not exceed Rs 40 lakh; if you add another couple of warranties as
we put on policies, perhaps you can exclude almost all……….

The Minister also suggested initiation of pilot
programme on Nutri-Farms for introducing new crop varieties that are rich in
micro-nutrients such as iron-rich bajra, protein-rich maize and zinc-rich
wheat. He has proposed to provide a sum
of upto `200 crore to start the pilots. Ministry of Agriculture will formulate
a scheme and he hopes that that agri
businesses and farmers will come together to start a sufficient number of
pilots in the districts most affected by malnutrition.

That is Budget 2013-14 for you, Happy ? The
only thing that made it interesting for me was his concluding quote from
Thiruvalluvar :

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Northern India would reel under the influence of
winter this period of time and in the Capital’s
corridors of power, a well-oiled bureaucratic machine moves into a
higher gear, in preparation of India's annual Budget, perhaps the country's
most importantly yearly statement.
The Budget is a complex,
expansive set of documents that details the country's income, expenditure and
economic policy, among others. People often quote the Great Kautilya as attaching importance
to public finance and the taxation system in the Arthasastra – To him, the power of the government depended upon the
strength of its treasury. That way Nation would wait
with bated breath, the speech of
Palaniappan Chidambaram presenting the budget.

Till a few years ago, people were agog with the
budget announcements – there would be crowds at petrol bunks as people would
fill the tanks of their two wheelers…… funny, some of them had capacity less
than 10 litres … !! Don’t expect magic in 2013-14 budget ~ history repeats
itself and remember his 2008-09 budget, which set the country on the path to
high inflation and low growth. Prior to Pranab Mukherjee who is often blamed
for the slide, it was Chidambaram’s
2008-09 budget; seen in this backlight, things are not all that rosy.

For those of us, not so conversant with Finance,
the Union Budget of India is the annual Financial Statement of the Nation as
represented in Article 112 of the Constitution of India; presented each year on
the last working day of February by the Finance Minister of India in
Parliament. The budget has to be passed by the House before it can come into
effect on April 1, the start of India's
financial year. Sure there cannot answers to India’s various problems in one
budget exercise but the annual budget is one where Govts try to balance between
aiming at growth and maintaining the present costs.

The Union Budget of India for 2013–2014 will be
presented by P. Chidambaram on 28th of February 2013. Former Finance Minister
Morarji Desai [who rose to become the Prime Minister too] presented the budget ten times, the most by
any. The first Union budget of independent India was presented by R. K.
Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.
Indira Gandhi, is the only woman to hold the post of the finance
minister and present the budget. Dr. Manmohan Singh became the Finance Minister
but presented the interim budget for 1991-92 as elections were forced.

Most salaried people would look eagerly for tax
sops. Presently there is no tax till 2
lakhs; 10% till 5 lakhs; 20% till the next 5 lakhs and 30% for income above 10
lakhs [for that portion which exceeds]; there is the additional 3% Education
cess. Life is not all about the little increase in exemption limits……… expect
the Govt to take care of better services and good governance.

Until the year 2000, the Union Budget was
announced at 5 pm on the last working day of the month of February. This
practice was inherited from the Colonial Era, when the British Parliament would
pass the budget in the noon followed by India in the evening of the day.
Mr.Yashwant Sinha, the then Finance Minister of India in the NDA government (led by
BJP) of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, changed the ritual by announcing the 2001 Union
Budget at 11 am.

Another day, another fire, human lives lost – it
will be brought under control – but no lessons will be learnt as we have been
hearing similar diasters. Old
dilapidated buildings, no fire fighting measures, access too difficult for fire
fighting, too many humans inhabiting and more……. the situations are more or
less similar in many of the reported fire accidents. This day sadly another one reported in Surya
Sen market in Kolkatta killing some humans.

Sealdah is one of the major railway stations
serving Kolkata; the others being Howrah
Station, Shalimar Station and Kolkata Railway Station. Sealdah is one of the
busiest railway stations in India
and an important suburban rail terminal.
It is century old as it was started in 1869. Understand that till a few decades ago, there
was a tram terminus too.

Surja Sen market is in news for wrong reasons – this place is named
after a great freedom fighter Surya Sen, famous for leading the 1930 Chittagong armoury raid. It is reported that a massive fire broke out
in Surja Sen market near Sealdah in Kolkata this morning [27th Feb 2013]. The death toll is high and more than 15
persons are feared to have been killed in the fire. Five bodies are reported to have been rescued so far. More than 50 people
are feared trapped inside.

TV reports suggest that 25 fire engines
were at the spot fighting to bring the
fire under control. The deaths were mainly caused by suffocation. The reason of
the fire was yet to be confirmed. Sources said the market complex had inflammable
items like paper and plastic piled up inside. The fire was detected around 3.50
am and most of the victims and the injured were sleeping at the time. Over the last few years, the city has seen a
series of major fires breaking out at crowded places.

Heavy smoke and narrow lanes leading to the
market are hampering the rescue work. The market houses many shops and several
plastic and paper godowns. Many of those trapped inside are believed to be
workers who stay there overnight. The firefighters are using gas cutters to
reach them.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Naharlagun is a picturesque town, surrounded
by mountains, situated in the foothills
of Himalayas in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, 10 km the capital city
of Itanagar, it is at an altitude of 200 metres from sea level.

Pawan Kumar Bansal, the MP elected from Chandigarh currently the
Minister of Railways. The list is that
of Railway Ministers of India from Independence. Today, Pawankumar Bansal presented the
Railway budget. As most of the budgets promised, this budget speaks of ‘67 new
express trains to be introduced; 27 passenger trains, 8 DEMUs’

That was not enough as the opposition disrupted
the Rail Budget speech over new train
announcements. There is no escalation in
the passenger fares even when the diesel prices are on the rise. There is marginal increase in cancellation,
reservation charges. Railway revenues to
show a balance of Rs 12,506 crore in 2013-14. There is a proposal for setting up Railway
Energy Management Company to harness solar and wind energy; New coach
manufacturing and maintenance facilities to be set up in various places
including Rae Bareli, Bhilwara, Sonepat, Kalahandi, Kolar, Palakkad and
Pratapgarh; Common rail-bus ticket to be introduced for Katra-Vaishnodevi
pilgrims.

Internet booking to be strengthened with
next-generation e-ticketing system to eliminate delays and to be provided from
0030 hours to 2330 hours. Special A/C
coaches ‘Anubhuti’, to be introduced in select Shatabdi and Rajdhani trains to
give excellent ambience with commensurate fare; SMS alert service being rolled
out shortly to intimate passengers about reservation status; Free wi-fi facility
to be provided in select trains; Railways to set up six more Rail Neer bottling
plants

Most importantly, Arunachal Pradesh is now
connected and is in the Railway map of the country. The Railway Minister has
now announced laying of the first track from Harmoti in Assam to
Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh. The distance between Harmoti and Naharlagun is
23 km. The track is likely to be commissioned within the next fiscal year. The
addition of Arunachal Pradesh to the rail network is of immense importance given
its remoteness and also due to its proximity to China. The introduction of railways
in the state is likely to boost India’s
defence preparedness in the India-China border.

Initial shock has died down; on 21st February 2013, at around 19:00 IST, two blasts
occurred in the city of Hyderabad, bombs exploded in Dilsukhnagar, a crowded
Shopping Area,within 100 metres (330 ft) of each other. First one at a roadside eatery named A1 Mirchi centre beside
the Anand Tiffin Centre, followed by the second one two minutes later near the
Route 107 bus stand close to the Venkatadri theatre. 17 people are feared dead and more than 100
injured. If you
ever thought that such killings would arouse the Nation, sorry – nothing of
that sort happens ~ it is nothing new – there have been bomb blasts earlier ~
now one hears of the political fight over the proposed National Counter
Terrorism Centre between the State and Centre.

The Govt never appears serious in thwarting the serious
challenges of terrorism, the Police is ill-equipped to handle with crunch in
manpower, lack of adequate technology, inadequate infrastructure of
intelligence, more importantly lacking
the serious political will. The State
Police is always over employed in handling security for politicians and then
there are always political issues. AP
Police in the recent past is engaged in tackling the rasta roko called by the
Telangana Joint Action Committee on the Hyderabad-Bangalore National Highway on
24 February and the Hyderabad-Vijayawada
National Highway on 2 March. Interesting is the geographical
location of Dilsukhnagar – it leads to
the Vijayawada Highway
and one can also access the Bangalore
Highway by passing through it.

In a fast blame game, there has been some debate over whether the police did not act on intelligence
inputs – generic or specific – to neutralise the terrorists. Fact of the matter
is that the Police force is unable to
qualitatively strategise matters like these. Andhra Pradesh is not an exception. Everytime we get to hear about the
intelligence inputs being passed on but seldom they get translated into action.
Then there are so many who would rally in the name of Human rights when any one is punished by law.

The sound of the blast at Dilsukhnagar was so loud that it
is feared that at least 40 of those injured would suffer loss of hearing. For
the sake of the safety of the people of the Nation, one hopes the sound is more of a
wake-up call for the politicians. There are
also reports that the CCTV footage from the camera of a shop in Dilsukhnagar
shows a man with a bicycle with a container parking it near Anand Tiffin shop. This may lead them nowhere…… the challenges
are even bigger.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

26th Feb 2013.

Today’s editorial in “The New Indian Express” is a must read… Here it is :

Our cold
showers for a blood bath will invite many more Hyderabads

By
Prabhu Chawla

24th
February 2013 07:34 AM

Blood from the bodies of innocents massacred by terrorist bombs over
the years continues to ooze and inundate more geographical landmass. It has
only one colour. But India’s
vote-hungry political leaders don’t hesitate to give different hues to the
perpetrators of heinous crimes against humanity. They condemn the act, but fight like cats and dogs when
it comes to identifying the roots of terror and cutting them off forever. The
Parliament debate on the Hyderabad
blasts that killed 16 people and injured 119 reflected both the ideological and
administrative division within the political establishment on fixing
responsibility for preventing the explosions. Instead, they were involved in
pinning down the other side for playing politics in the name of blood. But none
were willing to name the source, which promotes, finances and even leads bloody
attacks on the idea of a united and genuinely secular India.

On
the evening after the blasts, the ever-smiling Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde
was more worried about the words he would use while making his statement in
Parliament the next day, rather than ponder on the failure of the state
government in preventing the bombings, in spite of having received prior
information. He spent all night watching live reports on TV, while his officers
and that of the state government were busy finding excuses for the intelligence
failure. The next morning, in both Houses, Shinde was the target of both his
opponents and allies. They were hard on him, but were soft and ambivalent on
the ways and means to tackle the rising menace of the murderous mercenaries of
religious fundamentalism. None of the 40-odd speakers from various political
parties suggested any feasible and foolproof action plan to deal with the
Hydra-headed monster. For them, terror has become yet another tool to expand
their share in the voter’s market. Not one leader questioned the government
over its failure to bring to justice the villains who have caused such a huge
loss of human lives.

The
way the Hyderabad
blasts were handled symbolise the mind of the Indian establishment. It seems to
have reconciled to the idea of living with periodic terror attacks in various
parts of the country. It is busy dreaming of the Indian growth story and
ignoring the evil forces that are striking at the very roots of a stable
economy and democracy. It wakes up only when a gang of fearless butchers
strikes. After making the usual ritualistic speeches, it’s back to slumber
after the blood has dried on the streets and political parties have agreed on a
ceasefire. During the past two decades, over 500 people have been killed in
terror attacks in India.
Yet, the nation is nowhere near a consensus over the tone and content of strong
anti-terror laws. Some lawmakers mention in private that when they sit at the
table to formulate counter-terror mechanisms, they are told to keep religious
sensitivities and the implications of the legal framework in mind before
proposing any solution for consideration to the government. While the UPA seems
unwilling to commit itself to any consensual legislation, it has once again
revived its agenda of imposing Central agencies on state governments. Once
again, it made a strong pitch to set up a National Counter Terrorism Centre
(NCTC) in all states, with the power to arrest any suspicious individual as a
potential terrorist. In fact, an attempt was made to link the Hyderabad incident with the absence of an
effective nationwide intelligence agency. India is already flooded with so
many agencies that deal with intelligence gathering. Instead of making them
stronger and accountable, the Centre is pushing for yet another elitist
organisation, which may be managed by private agencies.

Unfortunately,
it didn’t bother to look at the various anti-terror bills sent by various
non-Congress-ruled states for the President’s approval, and choose some of the
best suggestions to be incorporated in a Central legislation against terror.
Tragically, both the states and the Centre are dealing with terror as if the
corpses of victims were like any property, which has to be equally inherited
for the purposes of control and management. It is only in India where the
secret hanging of a terrorist, who brutalised the symbol of democracy, becomes
a subject of heated debate and protest. Even those who worship and blindly
follow the American culture of getting rid of the “enemies” of the American
people in secret bases like Guantanamo
joined the chorus against Afzal Guru’s execution in Tihar Jail.

Shockingly,
there is reluctance among the political class in naming the source of terror in
the Hyderabad
blasts. No one anywhere in the world is in doubt that Pakistan is the
world’s terror capital and its military rulers are the promoters. But naming Pakistan has
become an unpardonable sin for the Indian establishment. Even the BJP leaders
who spoke in Parliament refrained from directly blaming India’s hostile
neighbour. It was left to its octogenarian leader L K Advani to take Pakistan head
on. For the past few weeks, various terror groups and their chieftains have
been spewing venom and threatening violent attacks against India in their
speeches in various Pakistani cities. Back home, solid evidence about the
involvement of Pakistan-based organisations in the Hyderabad blasts have been underplayed by
those who claim to influence opinions and policies. Those purveyors of
glamorous peace marches and legislation with a human touch forget that terror
knows only one weapon. An eye for an eye, bodies for a
body, and not cold showers for a blood bath.

Monday, February 25, 2013

This morning I had posted about the
launch of Indo-French satellite 'SARAL',
aimed at oceanographic studies, on board PSLV-C20 from the spaceport of
Sriharikota.

Most happy news for Indians is that
the launch has been successful and that the first satellite is placed in its orbit now.

Zee & IBN reports state that
the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle
PSLV-C20 was launched from the first launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre
at 6.01 pm. It was initally slated for blast-off at 5.56 PM local time .
President Pranab Mukherjee was also present at the mega launch.

After this good knock, Dhoni’s stock has gone way up… among
the Indian Captains, he is no. 3 only behind Sunil Gavaskar and Azharuddin, in
terms of runs made and that is really great considering, the others played as
pure batsmen.

How much have the World of advertising and money involved
in that developed over the years…

There is news that off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was
fined 10 percent of his match fee for flaunting logos ~ where ? on his batting pads in breach of the ICC
Code of Conduct during the third day’s play in the first cricket Test against Australia at
Chepauk.

Remember Ashwin is not even an allrounder, is a bowler who
can bt a bit and yet there are so many who want him to endorse their products
!!!! Nothing strange, only strange news
is that somebody being penalized for such acts… Ashwin was found to have
breached Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player
Support Personnel (the “Code”) which relates to “breach of the ICC’s Clothing
and Equipment Regulations during an International Match”.

An belligerent Dhoni has already outlived all expectations
but still there were some more.. today he started with a reverse sweep and hit
a six too… but got out and Buvaneshkumar’s resistance also came to an end at
last. India
have a good lead of 192. Shane Watson opened instead of David Warner, reportedly down with delhi belly.
~ and the ball before lunch, Ashwin had him caught in the slips…… are Australia looking down at the
barrel…

This morning Ravi Shastri was heard as stating that he
would not be surprised if there is no play tomorrow….

Another day, another
launch, another success ~ would make Indians lot proud. Today, Indo-French satellite 'SARAL', aimed
at oceanographic studies, is to be launched along with a mix of six foreign
mini and micro satellites on board PSLV-C20 from the spaceport of Sriharikota.

SARAL or Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa is a
cooperative altimetry technology mission of Indian Space Research
Organisation(ISRO) and CNES (Space Agency of France). The ISRO built satellite
with payloads modules (AltiKa altimeter, DORIS, Laser Retroreflector Array
(LRA) and ARGOS-3 (Advanced Research and Global Observation Satellite) data
collection system provided CNES will be launched by Indian Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle rocket into the Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO). ISRO will be
responsible for the platform, launch, and operations of the spacecraft.

The payload carries instruments not only to measure
the rise in sea levels from space, but also to collect other ocean data that
helps study the coast and estuarine, tsunami prediction and may also lead to
improved weather forecast. ISRO reports
that there will be two instruments on board – a Ka-band altimeter named
“AltiKa”, that helps measure ocean surface topography with unparallelled
accuracy and “ARGOS-3”, an instrument for collecting data transmitted by 17,000
geo-tracking devices worldwide.

The technology offered by SARAL would significantly
improve the satellite measurement of sea levels as well as the understanding of
tropical climate, the French embassy said in a statement. Being the second
Indo-French satellite after the “Megha-Tropique”, SARAL is being launched after
India and France signed an agreement to further their collaboration in space
research during the first visit of new French President Francois Hollande. SARAL,
however, is delayed by almost two years as the first launch was scheduled in
2011, which was later rescheduled to December 2012. That too was postponed and
further tests were carried out to ensure the payload’s reliability in
collecting and transmitting data.

Scientific studies have shown that the sea level in
the Indian Ocean is rising unevenly and threatening residents in some densely
populated coastal areas and islands. The rise is especially high along the
coastlines of the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, as well as Sri Lanka,
Sumatra and Java. So, Saral would be of
great help in analyzing the rise in sea levels and developing pre-warning
systems.

ISRO sources state that the Polar Satellite Launch
Vehicle PSLV-C20 is scheduled for blast-off at 5.56 PM from the spaceport at
Sriharikota, 110 km from Chennai, carrying 'SARAL', aimed at oceanographic
studies,and six foreign mini and micro satellites.

Aside, newspaper reports state that ahead of the
launch of the Indo- French satellite 'SARAL' onboard ISRO's workhorse rocket
PSLV from Sriharikota, ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan offered worship at the
most holiest of Shrines ~ the hill
shrine of Thirumala Tirupathi Lord Venkateswara. An ardent devotee,
Radhakrishnan visits the shrine to seek divine blessings ahead of every
satellite launch and makes another trip after its success, the sources said.

Wishing the Nation and the people of India
[Ourselves] a successful launch

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Not many might know or remember of Test no.551 incidentally played in Madras – not in Chepauk but in Corporation Stadium in Jan 1964. Today, fans went to Chepauk aspiring to see Sachin complete another Test hundred; nay that was not to be… Virat Kohli made one and India finished at 515 for 8 ~ a lead of 135 runs. When Dhoni walked in at 196 – 4 – a lead looked seemingly improbable.

What an innings he played today and the way he tore
Nathan Lyon apart.. hitting short of length, good length and murdering anything
overpitched.. and reassuringly reaching his 200 in the company of
Bhuvaneshkumar. For the 9th
wicket, now it is a record partnership of 109 runs with negligible contribution
of 16 but valuable staying from Buvanesh….

For ages, the record for highest score by an Indian
wicket keeper stood at 192 ~ those were the runs made by Budhisagar Krishnappa
Kunderan way back in 1964 against England when he opened the innings and was
out to Titus. Now it is Dhoni, who is the man.. he has also
become the highest scoring Captain against Australia…. Dhoni has scored 206 of the 319 runs after he
came to bat doay that have come with him
at the wicket. Of this ninth-wicket stand worth 109, Bhuvneshwar has scored
only 16. The highest score by a wicketkeeper is only 232 that of Andy Flower
which for sure might get rewritten tomorrow.

Dhoni has a swaggering arrogance in his ways and is
perhaps the fastest runner between the wickets and even when he has been there
for hours; today for long, he defended B Kumar taking singles towards the end
of the overs and ran like a hare in between.
We blame him for IPL – he has almost made Chennai, his second home, ~
plays for Chennai Super Kings, has house property at Chennai and has even
become a Director in India Cements………….. but this man who plays in all formats
really pushes things beyond the imaginable borders, as some of his towering
hits showed today.

He has been ambitious, leading the Country, some criticize
him for his defensive ways………….. but you
cannot deny the fact that he pushes the limits and sets newer horizons………..
Great Innings – I thoroughly enjoyed seeing him play today………… Great Knock,
Captain, Hats Off to you.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Massimilano Latorre and
Salvatore Girone have been permitted to
vote in February 24, 25 elections where Pier Luigi Bersani, the current
Secretary of the Democratic Party is considered to be a favourite. It is election time in Italy ~ the general
election to determine the 630 members of the Chamber of Deputies and the 315
elective members of the Senate, the two houses of the Italian parliament ~ the
election which will determine the composition of the 17th Parliament of the
Italian Republic.

The elections have become due following the European sovereign debt crisis which brought
about the resignation of Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi in Nov 2011, he was
also facing criminal charges is another.
It is now viewed that what happens in Italy
would affect the rest of Europe. If you are unable to link those two names to
Italy elections, one need to go back to the shores of Kerala, a year ago to that ill-fated day on 15th Feb
2012 when two Indian fishermen were shot dead by the Italian Marines on board
the vessel Enrica Lexie. It was seen as brazen killing of fishermen on
board a fishing vessel which went closer to the vessel on which Italian Marines
were providing security cover. The mishap allegedly occurred off Thottappally
coast in Alappuzha district.

On 20 December, the Kerala
High Court accepted to temporarily relax bail conditions for both Italian
Marines by allowing them to travel to Italy for 2 weeks during the
Christmas vacation period. Italy
was required to pay a further bond of Rs. 6 crore and keep the Marines under
surveillance at all times. The Italian Government submitted guarantees to the
High Court prior to taking custody of the Marines and was responsible for their
return and surrender of passports to the Kerala High Court. On 4 January 2013,
the marines flew back to Kochi
airport.

The ones mentioned in the
first line of this post are the Italian Marines. The Supreme Court on Friday
[22nd Feb 2013] permitted Italian
marines Massimilano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, accused in the case of the
killing of two fishermen in Kerala, to visit their country to vote in the
February 24 and 25 elections. Newspaper
reports state that the three-judge Bench
of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justices Anil R. Dave and Vikramajit Sen,
while granting the permission on an application from the marines and the
Italian government, questioned the Union government why it was “dragging its
feet” on setting up a special court to conduct the trial. The Bench referred to
the January 18 order directing the Centre to consult the Chief Justice of India
(CJI) to set up a special court and questioned why no steps were taken in this
regard.

The Bench, in a brief order,
noted that under the Italian law, the marines were not entitled to cast their
votes through postal ballot. The Bench made it clear that the marines were only
being allowed to travel to Italy
and they would have to return to India.

Given the Indo-Sri lankan relations and
the tamil sentiments, it was a potent bomb…. ~ the pictures of LTTE leader Prabakaran’s son Balachandran in
military custody before being shot dead published in The Hindu naturally evoked outrage and strong condemnation from
political parties in Tamil Nadu.The
photos were of Channel 4 TV as part of a new video film on alleged war crimes
in the end stage of the civil war in Sri Lanka in 2009.

Prabhakaran's son could have been killed
in crossfire while he was in a little bunker. There is no need for an
international probe. The photos are morphed," Prasad Kariyawasam told
CNN-IBN. However, the pictures, part of a
film, "No Fire Zone", which seeks to document the rights abuses during
the final phase of Sri Lanka's
war sure delivered a different message.

And that has cast its shadow first on
Sports arena. The Asian Athletics
Championships is a quadrennial event
organized by the Asian Athletics Association.
It was first held in 1973 and the
20th one was to be held here. India
had hosted it in 1989 at New Delhi
and Chennai was to be the venue for the 20th event. Alas,
not to be. Stepping up her campaign against the Sri Lankan government after the
emergence of what appeared to be new evidence of war crimes, Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday announced that the State would not host the
20th Asian Athletics Championships to be held here in July 2013

The participation of Sri Lankan athletes
would hurt the feelings of Tamils, she said, in a statement. The Asian
Athletics Association (AAA), Singapore,
which conducts the championships, would be asked to conduct the event
elsewhere. The Chief Minister on Wednesday condemned the Sri Lankan government
over the alleged cold-blooded killing of Balachandran, son of the slain LTTE
chief V. Prabakaran, terming it an “inhuman act”. Ms. Jayalalithaa said her government
wrote to the AAA, seeking the exclusion of the Sri Lankan contingent from the
event. This was in view of the Sri Lankan government acting repeatedly against
Tamils. Ms. Jayalalithaa added that “since there has been no favourable
response from the AAA, my government will at no cost accept holding the event,
in which Sri Lanka
is also participating, in Tamil Nadu. Tamils also will not accept it.”

The Chief Minister recalled that she
ordered the return of Sri Lankan football players who were in Chennai for a
friendly match in September last. In July and August, after she stoutly opposed
training given to defence officials of Sri Lanka
at the Air Force Station, Tambaram, near Chennai, and DefenceServiceStaffCollege, Wellington, in Nilgiris district, the
officials were withdrawn from the training programmes. The Chief Minister said
she had written a number of letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that no
training should be given to Sri Lankan officials anywhere in the country
including in Tamil Nadu.

The government’s decision not to host the
Asian Athletics Championships in Chennai has brought into focus the state’s
standing as an international sporting destination. There are mixed feelings,
but none would dare to comment as political sentiments run very deep. The move
would be hailed as prudent and keeping with demands of the current scenario as
in the fragile environment, it is better to avoid any untoward incidents.

Will that spill over elsewhere…….. and
would Srilankan cricketers who have a fair sprinkling on IPL teams would be
allowed is one Q ~ no speculations !

Some leaders have always stopped with
statements ~ the Centre has dangled with a unclear policy on its stand against Sri Lanka for
its alleged war crimes. TN CM
Jayalalithaa has been a lone warrior and perhaps through her decision has conveyed to Delhi and Colombo in unequivocal terms that if
India continues to indulge in diplomatese, even after mounting evidence of Sri
Lanka’s alleged war crimes against ethnic Tamils and the growing tide of
international outcry, the state will not keep quiet and has every reason to
tick them off.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Dr. Richard Ian (Ric)
Charlesworth AM is a very active
person. He is a sports and performance
consultant, a former Australian
cricketer and field hockey player and coach. He is also a medical doctor and former
federal politician.

Decades ago, played MJ Gopalan, a double
Inernational. Morappakam Josyam Gopalan [1906 – 2003] represented India in cricket and hockey. When
Ranji Trophy was inaugurated in 1934, MJ Gopalan delivered the first ball of the tournament. His only
Test match was against England
at Calcutta in
early 1934. In 1936 he was selected in
the hockey team for the Berlin Olympics and the cricket team to tour England. It was
known beforehand that Gopalan would have a small role to play in the England tour
because of the presence of Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh. Still he chose the
latter, which turned out to be a terrible decision. The hockey team captained
by Dhyan Chand, one of the finest teams in the history of the sport, won the
gold medal with little difficulty. As it turned out, Gopalan did not play a
Test in England.
The tour was marred by internal politics and the team returned in disgrace.

photo from The Hindu

He lived in Triplicane and I have seen him at
close quarters on many occasions. The
bi-annual Cricket tournament between Ceylon
and Madras was
named after him and called ‘MJ Gopalan Trophy’.

Not sure how many of you, especially women
followed the 2013 Women's Cricket World Cup held in India recently. It was
the tenth Women's Cricket World Cup. Australia won the tournament for the sixth time,
beating West Indies easily by a big margin
of 114 runs in the final. In the finals, after setting a huge target of
260, Aussie captain was worried for once… WI were coasting at 32 for no loss
and their change bowler Ellysse Perry who had
not figured in the Super 6 started her run-up limping up, did not deliver in her first attempts,
visibly feeling the pain of her foot.
She had earlier smacked 25 off 22 balls.
Will she bowl was the question ?

She did, and struck in her first over,
trapping Kycia Knight in front and taking two more wickets at a miserly
spell. She is a national footballer too.
Ellyse Alexandra Perry is the youngest
person, male or female, to represent Australia in cricket and the first
Australian woman to have appeared in both cricket and association football
World Cups.

I had posted about the lonely female
Umpire in the middle Kathy Cross from New Zealand
who finished 4th losing to England
for the 3rd place; another Newzealander had reasons to be happy, it was Suzie
Bates who topped the tournament with 407 runs distantly followed by WI Stefanie
Taylor with 309. Anya Shrubsole and
Megan Schutt took 13 wickets each.

Suzannah Wilson Bates is 25 and is an
all rounder. This stylish player made
her international debut against India
in the ODI series in 2006. Suzie Bates, New Zealand
captain and allrounder, is more – she is a
basketball player and also an
Olympian having participated in Beijing
Olympics2008. Bates says basketball has had a role to play in improving
her mental and physical fitness. Basketball fulfilled Bates' dream of going to
the Olympics and gave her a chance to see athletes that one would otherwise
"only see on television. It sounds as good as it can get - representing
your country at the highest level in two sports in parallel, but it puts
enormous strain on body and mind. In mid-2011, Bates got the New Zealand captaincy and has done
more than reasonably well in Cricket.
While she adores basketball, cricket is clearly Bates' greater passion.
Dual internationals face constant, conflicting demands on their time.

Just to emphasise the point that women are
good at multi-tasking, New
Zealand had two dual internationals in their
World Cup squad. Sophie Devine was the other,
though she could not make to finals, she was part of New Zealand’s Olympic training
squad in Hockey.

‘White Ferns’ is the nickname
for the New Zealand
women’s cricket teame ‘Tall Ferns’ is the name of their Basketball team.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

It is
not a place known for its calmness or even when calm, there is the simmering
tensions prevailing in the city ~ and as usual the common man is worried as
there are no clues as yet after the dastardly killing. Only recently, it became more notorious after
the hate speech of a legislator, who challenged what would happen, if only
Police / army were to be kept away for a short time !!!

Thursday,
21st Feb 2013 - A sad day for the Nation ~ mindless bloodshed ~ more innocents
losing their lives………. it has happened before and today it is Dilsukhnagar with
pincode – 500060. Dilsukhnagar is
reportedly one of the largest commercial and residential centers in Hyderabad. The name was derived from a resident who
owned agricultural land around Malakpet, they say. . Gaddiannaram Fruit Market
situated here is Andhra Pradesh's main fruit market and is one of the largest
in the world. Today. Thursday, 21st Feb 2013,
three blasts [some versions state them to be 2] occurred in the locality
killing more than 15 and injuring more than 50 people.

Another
Indian city, this time Hyderabad
again, shaken with deadly bomb blasts;
innocent masses dying again. Home
Minister Sushilkumar Shinde says he has informed PM Manmohan Singh and spoke to
Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Kiran Kumar Reddy. Asked whether it was a
terror attack, the minister said "it was too early to say anything and
only an investigation will reveal it". PM Manmohan Singh strongly
condemned the blasts in Hyderabad calling them
a 'dastardly attack', and the guilty will not go unpunished. He further appealed to the public to remain
calm and maintain peace.

Reports
suggest that the two bombs were placed
within a radius of 100 to 150 metres on bicycles in Dilsukhnagar area. The
blasts took place during peak hours outside a roadside eatery near a bus stand
and Konark cinema theatre resulting in a stampede-like situation with people
trying flee to safety. Reports further
state that blasts were from a hero Honda bike parked closer to bus stop in
between Konark and Venkatadri theatres.

As
usual, UPA Chairperson, Central government and PM condemned the blasts. Central
home ministry declared high alert across the country. State police forces
started heavy combing across all sensitive areas of the city. How will the
Nation restore the confidence of the people ? who will provide succor to the
kin of the victims………….. people dying for no fault of theirs, we say terrorism
has no religion and terrorists are not supported by common man or groups. We
want the guilty punished. Not all the
time, the perpetrators are brought to book; then they face long trial meantime
provided with all facilities, there are different appellate courts; even for
the death sentence awarded to rarest of rare criminals, the mercy scheme is open
and if at all it comes to hanging, Yet
so much hue and cry raised for protecting them by the people, who seldom care
for those innocents and police personnel killed by terrorists… a great
democracy.

We must
all strongly condemns these kind of barbarian acts and demand the severe most
punishment to the perpetrators and their supporters. All their ilk must be socially outcast and
should not be treated anywhere including hospitals and public places.

Reports
state that a team of National Security Guards (NSG) was being rushed to Hyderabad on a BSF
aircraft. Some would start blaming the
forces ‘across the border' for the blasts.
They perhaps follow a pattern.
The previous major attack in Hyderabad
was on August 25, 2007 when two blasts took place almost simultaneously. Then the first bomb exploded in LumbiniAmusement Park and within 5 minutes
another at Gokul Chat Bhandar a popular restaurant about 5 kilometres (3
mi) away. At least 42 people were reported to have died in the two bombings. An outfit from Bangladesh was reported to be
behind those blasts.

Sad ~
when we call it cross border terrorism, why not declare those States as enemy
states and boycott all trade relations with them.

India takes on Australia in
the four-match Test series at home, which also happens to be the first Test
series of the year. A Test series at
home is eagerly looked forward to ~ the recent dismal performance against England at home
cast a shadow on the capabilities of the present Indian team. The present Aussie line up has only four
players who've experienced Test cricket in India, but still Aussies cannot be
taken likely. Before
you read more can you think of a bespectacled player, not so mobile on field
and a rabbit with the bat, making his debut in the present scenario !!

Overall, India
have played 82 tests against Aussies and have won 20 of which 15 have come in
42 tests played at home. There cannot be
any takeaways from the recent debacle of the tourists in the warm-up matches to
little known spinners ~ whether the National spinners would bowl them twice in
a helpful track remains to be seen.

Harbhajan has tormented Aussies on their previous tours and
is most likely to play his 100th test at Chepauk. For the visitors, Moises Henriques is likely to make his debut against the
highly paid Glenn Maxwell and would become Australia's 432nd Test cricketer tomorrow. Australia on Wednesday confirmed their XI and
whereas India are expected to play as many as three slow bowler, Australia
included only one specialist spinner, Nathan Lyon, alongside a four-man pace
group made up of Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and Henriques.
Maxwell will be the 12th man. Henriques
plays aggressive cricket and could reverse swing in the tour opener.

Thinking of Indo Aussie rivalry presently titled
‘Border-Gavaskar Trophy’, one test that would readily come to mind is the one
in Oct 1986 ~ it ended in an unusual
‘Tie’; the second of its kind in the history of Test Cricket, it was played at
Chepauk, Chennai; Gavaskar and Alan Border, both played in that test.
Henriques, Watson, Warner, Maxwell, Ed Cowan and the present day younger
generations could all be different – the man of this
post is much different…. He
debuted in the 1st Test of the Series in 1979/80 against Australia at this same venue, Chepauk.
It was Test no. 855 played in Sept 1979.
Kim Hughes and Sunil Gavaskar were the Captains.

Playing first Australia made 390, thanks to
centuries by Alan Border [162] and Kim Hughes [100]. From 2 for 75, they had a 222 run
partnership. Kapil Dev bowled well
taking 2 wickets; it was the debutant Dilip Doshi who stole the show taking 6
for 103 off his 43 overs. India replied
soundly making 425 ~ surprisingly no centuries but 50s by Gavaskar, Kirmani who
came in as nightwatchman, Vengsarkar, Yashpal Sharma and 83 by Kapil Dev. John Higgs, a leg spinner took 7
wickets. Australians started their 2nd innings towards
the end of the 4th day and ended up making 212/7 with half centuries by
Hilditch and Border. Venkatraghavan took
3 and Doshi got 2 wickets. The match
ended in a tame draw…… that was a 6 match series.

photo source : www.cricinfo.com

Now coming to the debutant Dilip Rasiklal Doshi, it was unique in the
sense that Doshi was one of only two Test bowlers that played in their first
tests after the age of thirty, yet went on to take 100 wickets, the other being
Clarrie Grimmett. Dilip Doshi, the slow leftarm spinner with
spectacles, was born in Rajkot in 1947, debuted in 1979 when he was 32+, went
on to play 33 Tests and 15 One dayers.
Having waited for so long, he didn't waste any time in making his
presence felt. With figures of 6/103 & 2/64 he was India's best
bowler in that debut match. He was a real bunny with the bat making 129 runs in
38 innings with 20 as the highest. Took
114 test and 22 one day wickets. With
his batting skills [the absence of it] and being termed as a slow mover, still
Doshi made his ODI debut during the 1980-81 tour of Australia. At Gabba, against NZ, he
produced his best figures of 4/30.

Doshi made his first Class debut for Saurashtra, but for
most part played for Bengal taking 318 wickets
in Ranji trophy at an impressive average of 18.33. He had a long stint in English league playing
for Nottinghamshire and Warwickshire. He
had immaculate control over the flight and turn and should have played much
more but was part of the unfortunate group of Rajinder Singh Hans, Rajinder
Goel, Padmakar Shivalkar – all left arm spinners, who were ignored by the brilliance
of Bishan Singh Bedi. There is a
feeling that Doshi's uneasy relationship with Sunil Gavaskar, especially during
the Pakistan
tour of 1982-83 - was primarily responsible for his Test career running into a
brick wall.

‘Spin Punch’ was his auto-biography. Doshi is
probably one of the few cricketers who after retiring from the game chose an
entirely different playing field. He was
the Managing Director of Entrack India,
a firm that marketted Montblanc pens in India. His son Nayan Doshi, plays English league.